LPSF Ballot Recommendations?

What are the LPSF Ballot Recommendations for the upcoming November 4th election?

This information would be helpful to me in filling out my absentee ballot.

Thanks in advance,

DRJ

Dear David And Everyone Else;

These are the ballot recommendations of the LPSF with a short thumb-
nail of the initiatives. This would be posted to the LPSF web site
but due to techanical errors the site is down.

The Dept of Elections url's may work for a pdf of each initiative.
Otherwise this is the url for the full voter booklet a small 9.5 MB
pdf.

http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/elections/Nov2008_VIP_EN_2.pdf

http://snipurl.com/4h9gs [www_sfgov_org]

Ron Getty
Chair Initiatives Committee
LPSF

LPSF RECOMMENDATIONS - Nov. 4th GENERAL ELECTION - INITIATIVES

PROP A - San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Earthquake
Safety Bonds, 2008 (PDF)

$900 million bond issue to earthquake proof SFGH and do other
upgrades. With the principal and interest payments total pay out over
20 years will be $2.5 billion. This is subject to no cost over-
runs.

PROP B - Establishing Affordable Housing Fund Using Set-Asides from
Property Taxes (PDF)

B: No (0-8-0)

A percentage of the total property taxes collected totaling about $36
million would be set aside for affordable housing causing a drop in
other city services or funding by this $36 million.

PROP C - Prohibiting City Employees from Serving on Charter Boards
and Commissions (PDF)

C: Yes (8-0-0)

Forbids city employees from serving on boards or commission where
their vote could be a conflict of interest or subject to undue
influence.

PROP D - Financing Pier 70 Waterfront District Development Plan upon
Board of Supervisors' Approval (PDF)

D: N.R. (0-2-6)

This project is being funded by the developers for the project and
businesses opening up on the newly developed site. However after the
LPSF vote recommendation was made a news article pointed out the city
would have to be contributing as much as $500 million towards the
project. Had this been known at the time the vote tally could have
been no.

PROP E - Changing the Number of Signatures Required to Recall City
Officials (PDF)

E: No (0-8-0)

San Francisco would replace its 10% signature requirement with the
state signature requirement of 15% to up to 20% depending on the
office and number of registered voters in the district. Making the
signature requirements tougher would make it tougher to force out
elected officials.

PROP F - Holding All Scheduled City Elections Only in Even-Numbered
Years (PDF)

F: Yes (6-0-2)

To align the various offices as noted for the elections of 2009 and
2011 for sheriff and DA, City Attorney, treasurer and Mayor the terms
of office would be extended to 5 years for a one time only extension.

Eventually in the following years thereafter 5 years later all City
wide offices would be elected in one year saving taxpayers money from
holding general elections every other two years for city wide offices.
  
PROP G - Allowing Retirement System Credit for Unpaid Parental Leave
(PDF)

G: N.R. (4-2-2)

For city personnel who took unpaid parental leave to adjust their
retirement to allow for the unpaid leave with service credit for
unpaid leave prior to 2003. Subsequently there have been changes in
city state and federal laws regarding unpaid parental leave.

The initiative states: all costs to purchase the service shall be
paid by the member. There shall be no costs to the city or county. No
service credits will be allowed until all such costs are received by
the Retirement System.

PROP H - San Francisco Clean Energy Act (PDF)

H: No (0-8-0)

A provision in the act allows revenue bond issues which do not
require voter approval only a mandate by the Board of Supervisors
which could lead to unchecked increase in gas and electric fees for
ratepayers.

PROP I - Creating the Office of an Independent Rate Payer Advocate
(PDF)

I: No (0-8-0)

Tied into the clean energy act but the advocate does not have any
authority.

PROP J - Creating a Historic Preservation Commission (PDF)

J: No (0-8-0)

A commission proposed by Aaron Peskin to create more bureaucracy for
property owners and a go around on the planning commission.

PROP K - Changing the Enforcement of Laws Related to Prostitution and
Sex Workers (PDF)

K: Yes (8-0-0)

Get the police out of adult victimless crimes consensual sex workers
business

PROP L - Funding the Community Justice Center (PDF)

L: No (0-7-1)

Setting up a special center to try individuals accused of victimless
crimes of sex workers, street corner pharmacists and public drinking
and then minor assault and battery and petty thievery and so on and
to provide social and health services. This type of services can be
done by combining the departments already providing those services
without requiring additional funding. The recently approved SF budget
2008 - 2009 included $2.6 million and will require an additional
$126,000 to be fully funded and require about $2.4 million a year to
operate.

PROP M - Changing the Residential Rent Ordinance to Prohibit Specific
Acts of Harassment of Tenants by Landlords (PDF)

M: No (0-8-0)

One-sided act to upgrade tenants' rights in response to major lists
of alleged abuses by a property management company totally ignores
and hits up landlords who are decent and is just another nail in
coffin of available rental properties. This was written by Chris Daly.

PROP N - Changing Real Property Transfer Tax Rates (PDF)

N: No (0-8-0)

Increases the property tax transfer rate on large properties to fund
city activities and raises about $29 million.

PROP O - Replacing the Emergency Response Fee with an Access Line Tax
and Revising the Telephone User Tax (PDF)
  
O: No (0-7-1)

Replacing the "voluntary" funding of 911 found to be legally
unconstitutionally with telephone bill tax on all telephone usage
land lines cell phones etc to fund 911 rather than charge a user fee
to callers of 911 raising about $82 million a year.

PROP P - Changing the Composition of the San Francisco County
Transportation Authority Board (PDF)

P: N.R. (0-0-8)

Newsom submitted initiative which modifies how political appointments
are made to the MTA.

PROP Q - Modifying the Payroll Expense Tax (PDF)

Q: No (0-8-0)

Exempting businesses with under $250,000 in payroll from the payroll
tax then having partnership distributions charged as payroll for
payroll tax purposes such as law and accounting and medical and
dental and other such professional partnerships which have year end
profit distributions. Currently a business with under $166,000 in
payroll is exempted or some 20,000 businesses going to $250,000 would
add 5,500 businesses.

The estimated overall impact would be a net tax increase of $10
million.

PROP R - Renaming the Oceanside Water Treatment Plant (PDF)

R: N.R. (4-3-1

Name change to George W. Bush Sewage Treatment Plant

PROP S - Policy Regarding Budget Set-Asides and Identification of
Replacement Funds (PDF)

S: Yes (8-0-0)

Requires any mandated fund set asides to have identified the source
of those funds.

PROP T - Free and Low-Cost Substance Abuse Treatment Programs (PDF)

T: No (0-8-0)

Proposition T would require DPH to provide an annual report to the
Board assessing demand for substance abuse treatment and presenting a
plan to meet such demand. It would require DPH to maintain an
adequate level of free and low cost substance abuse treatment
services and residential treatment capacity sufficient to meet
existing demand. The City would be required to provide a variety of
substance abuse treatment services. As long as there is unmet demand,
the City would also be required to prevent any reduction in funding
and staffing for City substance abuse treatment programs, as well as
residential treatment. Funds for these services are allocated
annually in the budget process and currently total $50 millon.

Note that an ordinance cannot bind future Mayors and Boards of
Supervisors to provide funding for this or any other purpose. Under
the City Charter, the ultimate cost of this proposal depends on
decisions made in the City's annual budget process.

PROP U - Policy Against Funding the Deployment of Armed Forces in
Iraq (PDF)

U: N.R. (4-0-4)

Public policy statement cutting off funds for Iraq war with the
exception of the money needed to bring the troops home.

PROP V - Policy Against Terminating Junior Reserve Officers' Training
Corps (JROTC) Programs in Public High Schools (PDF)

V: No (3-5-0)

Public policy statement made to the Board of Education to endorse
keeping the JROTC.

What are the LPSF Ballot Recommendations for the upcoming November

4th election?

This information would be helpful to me in filling out my absentee

ballot.

Ron

Thank you for your quick, understandable and comprehensive response.

DRJ